Identity Theft Is On The Rise

Readers be advised, idetity theft is on the rise. In the UK alone there were 148,000 victims during 2015 according to the fraud prevention service Cifas. This is up by 57% from previous years. And as if we were not worried enough by Ransomware and Brexit!

Researchers looking at this growing issue have identified social media sites as the main culprits for publishing personal details. If you think about it you wouldnt give your date of birth to just anyone, but there it is on your Facebook wall. 

These personal details can be used to take out things such as loans and credit cards in your name, and could land you with a whole heap of debts, The advice is to be aware, and think carefully before you put any details online, and keep up to date with security/privacy settings for the sites where you have posted your details.

It could be something else that gives the game away for enterprising fraudsters though such as a photo that has your bank card it in somewhere, a picture with your passport in (perhaps if you are going on holiday), your phone number (Yes even that can be used as fraudsters may try to run a scam on you!).  

So remain vigilent and don't let the fraudsters catch you out...On the other hand I don't get a huge stream of Happy Birthdays on my Facebook wall, sad days indeed.